Witchcraft Journal Blog

A resource for information and opinions on the beliefs, practices, customs, and magic of Traditional Witchcraft of the British Isles.

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Traditional Witchcraft Magic vs. High Magick

In all of the magical arts, there exist two basic types of magic used today in witchcraft and in in the occult societies. These are Traditional Magic, also known as Folk Magic, and Ceremonial Magick, also known as High Magick.

Traditional Magic is used in Traditional Witchcraft and some refer to it as "witches prayer." This form of magic has always been the most popular because of its recognition as the standard in British witchcraft. Traditional Witches, or "Trad Witches, utilizes techniques in spellcraft that focus the mind and mental energy, and to direct that energy to achieve its intended goal. A Trad Witch is one that practices the Traditional Witchcraft of old Britain. A mark of the Trad Witch is the use of friendly spirits in spellcraft. The spirits used are often specific Spirit Guides, family spirits, or land spirits.

To the general public, all witchcraft and occult magic is seen as within the realm of the supernatural, outside the physical world. However, in reality, magic is not supernatural at all, because it works within the natural world, physical world, within the laws of physics. Therefore, it is "natural" and not "supernatural."

There is a second way to look at it. If the cosmos was created by the gods (or God) and was not created by chance, then that which the gods created is innately natural. How magic works is not scientifically known. However, this does not make magic supernatural. It does mean that magic is a natural phenomenon that is not right now understood.

Trad Witches believe that in time, scientific awareness of physics will greatly increase and eventually the principles of magical phenomena will be appreciated by scientists as reflective of scientific fact.

Ceremonial Magick is very different. It derives from the Western Occult Tradition of continental Europe through such secret societies as the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and others. Their form of magick is highly ritualistic and quite complicated with perhaps some elements that may date back to the mysterious rites of ancient Egypt.

Summary:

While both approaches, Folk Magic and Ceremonial Magick, are used today, the differences between them is substantial. Trad Witchcraft uses a variety of friendly spirits and applies spellwork for intended goals. However, Ceremonial Magick goes another route and employs potentially treacherous forces that require great skill to control.

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1 Comments:

Blogger fireweed*** said...

Intresting, I never fully understood this .

Sunday, June 20, 2010 2:42:00 PM  

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